I Don't Like Bullies
by Darev
Summary: A short story that explores Riven's volatile nature. No Pairings.


**Darev**: This one shot was meant to be the first chapter in a whole new story, but I felt is served well as a stand-alone title. It basically looks into the darker side of Riven's nature and personality. My intention is not to make him seem sinister or evil, but for the reader to question if what he did was right given the situation.

**Disclaimer**: Winx Club is created by Iginio Straffi and is produced by Rai Television.

**Warning: **For violence and some graphic imagery, i.e. carnage.

**Milestone**: This fic brings me up to **30** stories!

* * *

Riven ducked a blow meant to take off his head. He rolled underneath the swing, coming up behind and to the left of his attacker. The ogre turned just as the point of a phantom blade entered the neck, going through and up, into the brain. The monster was dead before it even hit the ground and Riven was already turning his attention elsewhere.

His team had laid an ambush for the raiders, springing it the moment they left the safety of their camp. Their mission had been to put an end to the reign of terror the ogres had laid on this sparsely-populated region of Magix. This band had been particularly sinister in their dealings with the scattered human and elven enclaves of the wilderness; slaughtering entire families, stealing everything of worth before returning back to their holes and caves with their spoils. The farmers had sent a plea to Red Fountain for help. Codatorta dispatched their best team to handle the situation.

That best team was Riven's. They had witnessed the carnage left behind by the ogres firsthand when they arrived at an isolated settlement and found no survivors. After going through the morbid task of burying the dead, promising vengeance over the fallen, they went about accessing the whereabouts of the village murderers. Riven and Helia were the scouts. They'd found the ogre stronghold situated in a cave not far from where they found the destroyed village. The cave was heavily-fortified, and too well-guarded for a surprise attack. Riven's team had the firepower to blast their way through easily enough, but they had found evidence that the ogres had taken hostages. No doubt they were being used as slaves. Any direct attack could jeopardize their well-being, with the ogres putting them to the sword the moment the specialists attacked.

They settled on an ambush instead. All evidence suggested the ogres left their for en masse, relying on their overwhelming numbers and brute strength to overpower their victims before killing or enslaving them all. The entrance to the cave was littered with tracks. The brutes obviously didn't care to hide their trail, believing themselves to be so secure in their stronghold that no one would be foolish enough to attack them.

The specialists showed them otherwise. They hid along the rocks surrounding the caves. When the beasts finally came out, at least a score in all, their leader easily towering over the rest, they boys waited until they were in position before springing their trap. They had set traps the night before; tripwires which when stepped on activated mines cleverly hidden despite there being lack of foliage. Three of the beasts lay dead and one was seriously wounded before the specialists revealed themselves. Riven had cut down an ogre before the beast knew he was there, his sword finding its heart and dropping it like a rock. The ogre next to it turned on him, roaring an obscenity in its guttural tongue before launching itself at him. Raising its club high, it was almost beyond easy for Riven to cleave its belly in two, spilling its insides onto the rocky soil. So fast had the contact been that at first the ogre didn't know it was dying. It stood there for a moment, gaping at Riven as if unsure of what to make of him. Then it looked down. All thoughts of retaliation faded as the best tried to hold itself together, dropping its club and reaching for its open stomach, trying desperately to keep its entrails inside.

Riven didn't bother to offer it a quick death. After seeing what it did to the villages, he wanted the ogres to suffer. Riven never liked bullies. He liked murderers even less. His blade tasted ogre flesh and like him it hungered for more. He worked his way into the fray, cleaving left and right, dropping the giants with deadly precision.

Brandon let out a cry of exhilaration when the attack began. Requiring less finesse but needing skill as any weapon, his broadsword sent body parts flying. He currently squared off with the leader of the band, a huge ogre ten feet tall with ugly green skin. The beast roared and swung its axe in a wide swath. In these close quarters, its attack had done more damage against its own kin, the axe killing another ogre instead of the human who nimbly moved out of reach. The axe was crudely made but still deadly, and the ogre proved it possessed a range of skill in using it. How many innocents fell to that brutal weapon, Riven thought?

Brandon launched a series of feints to draw the beast in. He made sure to stay clear of the ogre's superior reach and he whistled as the axe came within a hair of lopping off his head. The youth taunted the ogre, calling something in its own language. While not fluent in ogre speak, Riven knew the insult to be grave for the ogre became infuriated. It went into a frenzy and began swinging its axe with reckless abandon. An ogre facing off with Helia did not see the axe as it cut clean through its shoulder blade. The ogre howled but instead of regarding its comrade, the leader kicked the dying creature off, blood spraying.

Helia ducked away while Brandon continued his taunting. The ogre came in fast, moving with speed that was impressive for its size. But Brandon was faster. One moment he stood motionless, giving the ogre a clean target. When the monster swung again, the strength behind would be enough to send the upper half of Brandon's body flying through the air. It never touched him. Brandon ducked underneath the blow and raised his broadsword high. It cut the axe and separated blade from handle. Now holding a stick, the ogre regarded its damaged weapon once before howling in anger. It discarded the axe handle and reached out with its great hands, intent on ripping the specialist apart.

But ogres were flesh and blood just like humans, and flesh was no protection against phantom blades. The green sword cut both hands off before they could reach Brandon. Twisting underneath, Brandon fell to all fours. The ogre leader had been charging for him so its momentum had carried it too far. It tripped over Brandon's prone form and went over before coming around to its back. Vulnerable, the creature looked at its arms as if noticing its missing hands for the first time. It saw Brandon loom over him, a confident smile on his handsome face. Brandon said one last thing to the ogre in its own language, a phrase which made the creature's shocked eyes bulge, then he brought he blade up and down. True to its name, the broadsword was wide and power, but it was a sharp as any of its varied brethren. It cleaved through the ogre's skull like a knife through butter, finishing it off once and for all.

The battle was one-sided all around. The ogres were used to fighting defenseless villagers, not trained warriors. More than half were already dead before the survivors retreated to the safety of their cave. Riven gutted a fleeing ogre before regarding Sky. Their leader nodded, using his shield to bash in the face of an ogre who got to close for his comfort. He allowed Helia to finish the creature before he touched the blue gem on his uniform. The gems served a variety of functions, not the least was a way for the specialists to communicate with one another.

The terrified ogres got within a few feet of their cave when a massive shadow stopped them in their tracks. The Red Fountain craft loomed over them like an angry bird of prey, its weapons trained on the beasts. Timmy's voice came over the loudspeaker, speaking the ogre tongue with greater fluidity than Brandon did when he chided the leader. Riven knew he was telling the beasts to surrender and was generally displeased when the ogres threw down their weapons and fell to their knees. The specialist wanted to kill them all. He wanted to avenge every innocent life the brutes took. He knew his friends felt the same way but to do cut down an enemy who has surrendered would make them no better than the ogres. Biting back his frustration, Riven took consolation in the fact that they had put an end to the cycle of murder. These monsters would kill no one ever again. The villagers were safe.

That's when he thought about the hostages. Riven rushed passed the ogres, one of them cowering when it saw him approach for fear that he would kill it, but Riven ignored the cowardly beast altogether. The ogres had used a giant rock as a door to their domain, covering the entrance to the cave. Riven considered the fact that there were more ogres inside. If that were the case, they posed a grave threat to the hostages. Fortunately, he told himself, the rock blotted out the sounds of battle so the ogres had no idea of their clan's decimation. They still had a chance.

Riven looked to Helia. His friend raised his hand and unleashed a series of thin cables that wrapped around the top of the rock. The cables amplified one's strength tenfold, a fact of which Riven did not know early on. He'd seen Helia restrain a monster attacking Red Fountain when the school had been rebuilt, and Helia had almost literally reared in Sky's damaged aircraft into the waiting hangar of a Red Fountain transport. At first he believed the pacifist to be possessed of supernatural strength, but it turns out that Helia was no stronger than anyone else.

That still didn't make this next feat any less impressive. Using the cables, Helia single-handedly dislodged the boulder, pulling it down and providing access to the cave. Without waiting, Riven jumped inside with Helia on his six. They traveled down a stone hallway that opened up to a chamber where the ogres made their home. The prisoners were locked inside a cage barely big enough to accommodate all six. No doubt stolen from one of the villages, the cage was used to trap large animals. The slaves were ragged, their clothes covered in dirt and blood.

Nearby was a lone ogre eating what had once been an animal that had roasted over a spit. It heard the cave entrance open and thought its kin were returning from a successful raid. The creature turned to the exit to the stone hallway expecting to find other ogres. Instead it found two specialists, one of whom fired a series of strings from his hand that wrapped around the ogre's neck. Feeling itself strangled, the ogre fell to one knee and looked up to find Riven aiming his blade at him. Even on its knees the ogre was taller, but that did nothing to change the fear in its eyes. This ogre was scared, and it pleaded with Riven with its eyes to spare its life.

Riven looked at the hostages. Gods know what they'd been through. These people had lives, homes, families; all destroyed by this band of ogres. Their dead kin called out for revenge and Riven was only too happy to accommodate them. He raised his sword.

"Riven," Helia called where was still restraining the ogre. While he didn't turn around, Riven could still see the condescending look on his friend's face. To kill in battle was one thing...but this? Still, what about the victims? They deserved justice.

They deserved revenge.

The ogre whimpered; its breath caught in its throat.

Riven still held the sword up, ready to bring it down and end the creature's pathetic life. Something in him disregarded the impulse for blood and he lowered the blade. "Let him go," he told Helia. The cables retracted and the ogre fell over, gasping for air. Riven turned his back on the ogre, speaking to Helia. "Tell Sky the hostages are okay. There was a guard but he's no longer a concern."

"No longer?" Helia repeated the words as his eyebrow raised in question.

Riven smiled. The ogre did too. Reaching behind it to grasp the knife Riven knew was there, it attacked, unsheathing the hidden blade. It had only enough time to bring it up before Riven turned, his blade slicing the air and the ogre's head at the same time. The head fell off, a clean cut separating it from its body. When the ogre's carcass slumped to the ground, only then did Riven deactivate his weapon. Regarding Helia, Riven gave him his trademark smirk that the other knew only too well. By turning his back on the ogre, Helia knew that Riven had goaded the beast into action. It wouldn't do to kill the ogre when it had surrendered, but if it had tried to kill Riven when he wasn't looking...

He did that on purpose, Helia knew. He wanted to kill the ogre, and Riven got his wish. While he had no love for these monsters, Helia did not approve of his friend's actions. Riven was a noble soul, but there were times when his darker half gained control of him, pushing him to do questionable things. Helia knew his friend walked a fine line between hero and tyrant, and there were times when he questioned whether or not Riven could tell the difference.

Riven considered the ogre's corpse, his smile never leaving his face. "Mission accomplished."

* * *

After freeing the prisoners, the specialists had the remaining ogres contained in the ship's brig. The burly beasts barely fit into the enclosed space, but comfort was the furthest thing from their minds. Their accommodations were far better than the condition of the cell where the human and elf captives were being held. The ogres would just have to make due until the specialists turned them over to the proper authorities.

Tending to the prisoners proved to be the highlight of their mission for they were all too pleased with their success. One of them, a girl possibly in her early teens, jumped up to wrap her arms around Brandon's neck, embracing him and thanking him for saving her life. Brandon returned the hug and whispered consoling things into her ear, stroking her hair and telling it that the ogres would never bother her again. Various outpourings of emotion sprung up all around them, and true to their training the heroes took it with barely-contained stoicism. Afterall, they didn't do this for the thanks or the fame, but because it was the right thing to do.

All the prisoners were young; not one of them was above the age of eighteen. Riven guessed that the ogres intended to break them in as slaves, turning them into mindlessly obedient workers. Between the slaves and the abundance of villages surrounding their encampment, the ogres intended to live as kings. It's too bad they didn't get there sooner, for many of the kids looked to be about half-starved. There was no telling what psychological drama they had experienced in their captivity.

"Riven."

He looked to find Helia approaching him. The pacifist had blood on his uniform which wasn't his own, no doubt belonging to some unfortunate ogre who found the peace-minded warrior to be stronger than he appeared. While he never questioned Helia's skill in battle, Riven found it odd how one who promoted peace could be so adept at taking a life. Helia never liked killing. He considered it an affront to life itself. How did it feel, Riven wondered, to hold life at such value only to be forced to take it in battle? Skilled though he was, Helia's heart wasn't made for war.

Riven had just finished putting a bandage around the head of one of the freed captives when Helia walked up to him. There was a sober look on his face. He noticed the tender way Riven applied the bandage. Those same hands were ruthlessly efficient killing machines. Helia had witnessed it for himself.

"What's up?" Riven asked.

"Can we talk for a moment?" He regarded the prisoner who looked up at him. His eyes fell to the floor as if he could bear to look at the specialist. "Alone?"

"Sure." With the boy tended to, Riven dusted himself off before joining Helia underneath the wing of the transport. They were still in sight of the others but far enough that they couldn't be heard.

"Why did you kill that ogre?"

The answer was so obvious that Riven found it strange the words were coming out of his mouth. "Cause he was the enemy."

"I had him restrained. There was no need to kill him."

"He had a knife."

"And he reached for it as soon as you turned your back. You wanted him to go for it, didn't you?" Helia's voice sounded accusing. He crossed his arms over his slim chest. "You wanted to kill him."

"I wanted to kill them all," the redhead answered truthfully and without remorse. "We all did."

"I didn't."

At that Riven balked.

"I wanted to bring them to justice."

"Justice has been served."

"So that gives us the right to choose who dies and who gets to live?" Helia's brow furrowed. "You let your emotions get the better of you back there."

Riven scowled at his friend. He did not like his tone.

"You purposely put yourself in a situation where you knew your life would be in danger, which validated your actions in killing the ogre. I had him under control and could have taken the beast in with the others. You knew that. He was incapacitated and still you weren't satisfied." Seeing his words had reached home, Helia added salt to the wound by saying, "That's as close to murder as you can get."

A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes.

"Am I wrong?" Helia pressed; disregarding the death glare Riven fired his way.

Riven seemed torn between defending his actions and admitting the truth to Helia's words. He did want to kill that ogre. He wanted them all dead. They deserved nothing less for what they've done. If it were up to him, Riven would have them all lined up and executed on the spot. But under Helia's gaze, which sought only understanding and not condemnation, he felt his ire subsiding.

"No." Riven looked away. "You're right."

"Why did you do it?" Helia's tone softened somewhat, realizing he'd gotten through to his friend.

"I've seen things like this all my life, the strong picking on the weak. They do whatever they want without fear of retaliation." Riven looked back. "I don't like bullies, Helia."

"But the ogre..."

"Was restrained, I know. I was out of line." The admission alleviated him. It wasn't guilt he felt but something else. Remorse? For an ogre? He almost smirked but didn't. Taking a life was no laughing matter. "Are you going to report me?"

Helia sighed. Such disregard for Red Fountain protocol, nevermind the moral implications, would call for report. Gods know Riven had enough on his record to fill a novel. Helia worried, not for Riven's record, but for his well-being.

"No," he answered after private introspection. "I just want you to realize that what you did was wrong."

"I know."

"Do you?"

"What do you want? An apology? I killed him. It happened. It's over. Let's move on."

"And next time?" Helia inclined his head to the side.

"There won't be a next time." Right now he'd say anything to shut Helia up, but deep down he found himself questioning that statement. Better to think of it on his own time. Riven wasn't much for talking, least of all when the topic was himself. "I can control myself." Riven did an about-face and walked back to the gathered captives.

Helia watched go with reservations. Upon thinking about it, he came to a conclusion that did not sit well with him. He found himself wondering whether or not Riven was trying to convince Helia of his words, or himself.

**FIN**


End file.
